Game 1 of The Western Conference Finals Didn't Disappoint

[Da Boss DJ Jo Corleone]

Last night’s battle between Denver and Los Angeles was everything we expected it to be. Kobe Bryant scored 40 points and Carmelo Anthony scored 39 points. Even though the final score was 105-103 there was some great defense played as well.
What was not expected was Los Angeles playing as physical as they did. Andrew Bynum who we know, plays like he still has something to prove was expected to add some toughness to the frontcourt. But the rest of the team stepped up from a physical standpoint as well.

The Lakers frontcourt got down in the paint and banged with Denver’s big boys, and though at times they looked powerless defensively; they held their own on the boards out rebounding the Nuggets 46-37.

Even Pau Gasol who had 13 points and 14 rebounds turned it up in the 4th quarter blocking shots by Carmelo, as well as Nene who finished with 14 points of his own. Then in the final seconds of the game Trevor Ariza had a big time steal that sealed the deal in the Lakers victory.

During the final play however it was strange to see a shorter Anthony Carter handling the inbound duties against a much taller Lamar Odom. Usually in these type of situations a team selects a big man to inbound the ball, but George Karl probably had a trick up his sleeve that just happened to back fire.

All in all it was a great game, and a great beginning of a great series. Expect a better performance from JR smith in the future games, as well a less minutes for Dahntay Jones. Other than those few things previously mentioned and a bad-coaching decision in the end Denver had a great game.

On the Lakers end their only flaw was their slow start in the first quarter. Truthfully that’s really not a flaw, considering Denver just came out hot. Once the Lakers got their defensive rotations going the game tightened up.

Both teams looked good on both ends of the floor and the rest of this series promises to be a conference final to remember.